State-sponsored protected areas became popular
during US progressive era conservation.
National Resource Reserves (National
Forests)
- multiple land uses.
National Parks and Monuments
- dual
mandate of recreation and
preservation.
Nature Preserves and Wilderness Areas
- preservation of pristine nature.
There were also many examples of state-
sponsored
protected areas in the 'developing world.'
State-controlled commercial
extraction, such as forest reserves
that limited local activity.
Game preserves for the European
sportsman.
Protected areas for scientific research
purposes (1970s onward).
The Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia was
established during British colonial rule.
Taman Negara was founded on
American ideals of wilderness
protection."
- Tuck-Po, 2011
Home to endangered megafauna, e.g.
tigers.
Also home to the Batek
people, an indigenous group of the Malay
Peninsula.
Today there are numerous protected
areas located throughout the world.
Protected areas
defined
as those areas where
human extractive
activities (farming,
grazing, mining, logging,
hunting) are outlawed.
Since the 1960s and 70s, the number and size of
protected areas has grown dramatically.
Protected areas have been established due
to rising concern for biodiversity.
1992 Convention for Biological
Diversity.
Funding for international
conservation:
International NGOs, e.g. The
Nature Conservancy
Multilateral agencies, e.g.
IUCN
Funders, e.g. World Bank
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011
-2020 adopted at the 10th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD.
Established the Aichi Biodiversity
Targets, including target 11:
"By 2020, at least 17 per cent of
terrestrial and inland water, and 10
per cent of coastal and marine
areas, especially areas of particular
importance for biodiversity and
ecosystem services
However, the Aichi targets are not expected to
be achieved, due to a number of key problems.
1. Only 36% of terrestrial ecoregions have more
than 17% coverage, with 29% having less than 5%
coverage.
2. 17% of birds, amphibians, and mammals are not
found in any protected area, and 85% don't have
enough populations inside for long
-term survival.
3
Since the 1980s, conservation organizations have sought to
fund conservation efforts through diverse mechanisms, e.g.:
Debt-for-Nature Swaps
Forgiving of debt by creditor in exchange for
conservation commitments by developing country in
debt
Debtor nation of conservation interest
=
Broker: international organization
=
Creditor
Since the late 1980s, conservationists have targeted
biodiversity hotspots around the world.
Map depicting 25 hotspots that contain 44% vascular plant and 35% vertebrate species.
What is a biodiversity hotspot?
Biodiversity hotspots
must contain 0.5%, or 1,500, of the world's 300,000
vascular plant species as endemics
(located only in one ecoregion).
A hotspot must also be severely
threated, with 70% or more of its
primary vegetation already lost.
Designation of
Some have argued that by only focusing on
hotspot conservation, we might fail to:
Maintain functioning ecosystems.
Protect widespread but threatened
species (displays low endemism).
Preserve spectacular wild landscapes
that inspire the human spirit.
Protect biodiversity in a way that
complements and sustains human
welfare.
Polar bears,
For example, a focus only on total numbers of species
may mean that some regions are not prioritized.
Ecuador (hotspot) roughly the same size as
Montana (coldspot)
Moreover, many conservation biologists have argued that the
growth of protected areas have proven insufficient.
1. Not sufficiently large or well-connected.
2. Protected areas may protect against habitat loss and
overexploitation but NOT climate change, pollution,
and invasive species.
3. Protected areas do not address underlying causes like rising ecological footp
Problems of continued extraction of
resources
from protected areas
...
Very few financial resources available to governments
to truly protect these areas
-- "paper parks.
Fewer than 6% of countries reporting to
Convention on Biological Diversity had
sufficient resources in the 2000s.
Only 20-
50% of protected areas are
effectively managed, according to IUCN.
Problems
of wildlife-
inflicted damage on human communities
in areas outside of the protected perimeter.
Close proximity between farmers and Bwindi
National Park leads to human
-wildlife conflict.
Sometimes highly
coercive suppression of local
people, for
example the militarization of Kenya's Wildlife Service.
Kenya's Wildlife Service armed with military
weapons.
Protected areas affected by distrust and noncooperation
between local rural peoples and park management.
People may be excluded to create reserves or
bear the costs of nature protection.
In turn, poor relations with local people lead to transgressions
of protected area to extract natural resources.
Illegal settlement in a protected area.
Illegal poaching of African elephants.
Beginning in 1990s, a move toward allowing certain activities
by local peoples within protected areas.
The Biosphere Reserve Model
sought to better integrate local
people's resource uses into protected
area management.
International Conference on
Biosphere Reserves in Seville in 1995.
Administered by UNESCO's Man and
the Biosphere Programme (MAB).
There ar